Arthur said Starc had taken the news well although he was clearly very disappointed.

"I wouldn't expect anything other than that," Arthur said.

"Mitch is our one quick bowler who stars in all three forms of the game.

"We've got such a lot of important cricket coming up and Mitch will be integral to that.

"It's tough on Mitch. Hopefully he misses one Test to make sure that we don't have another injury.

"He's ready to go for the one-dayers and the tour of India and the Ashes."

Starc is likely to return for the third Test in Sydney on January 3.

Arthur also said Clarke would be given until Wednesday morning to prove his fitness following last week's injury.

"He's clearly improving. He went far better today than he did yesterday," Arthur said.

"If I was a betting man I'd bet on Michael Clarke leading the team out on Boxing Day.

"It will be a consultation between Michael and Alex (team physio Alex Kountouris)."

Meanwhile, Australia captain Michael Clarke "desperately wants to play", but is no better than a 50-50 chance, according to chairman of selectors John Inverarity.

Clarke, who strained his right hamstring in Hobart last week, did not attempt to bat at the team's first training session at the MCG yesterday.

He slowly jogged about 100m several times under the guidance of physiotherapist Alex Kountouris and then walked a lap with Inverarity, talking about team selection in general.

He didn't limp, but flexed the leg several times and did not try to break into a sprint.

Later, while chatting to Inverarity and coach Mickey Arthur while the rest of the squad batted and bowled, Clarke clutched the leg several times before Arthur put a hand on his shoulder and then walked away to speak to vice-captain Shane Watson.

Clarke left the session early to go for a scan.

"He is 50-50," Inverarity said. "He is working hard on his recovery."

Asked if no risks would be taken, Inverarity said: "That would certainly be my position. I would prefer to take a conservative approach.

"He is a very precious asset and we would go low-risk.

"With all outstanding sportsmen, as Michael is, it is very hard to hold them back. That's part of the reason these people are so good.

News.com.au's Privacy Policy includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including to provide you with targeted content and advertising based on your online activities). It explains that if you do not provide us with information we have requested from you, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services you require. It also explains how you can access or seek correction of your personal information, how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with a complaint of that nature.

A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites.